outgrow
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to grow too large for (clothes, shoes, etc)
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to lose (a habit, idea, reputation, etc) in the course of development or time
-
to grow larger or faster than
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outgrowsimple
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outgrowssimple
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have outgrownperfect
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has outgrownperfect
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am outgrowingprogressive
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are outgrowingprogressive
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is outgrowingprogressive
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have been outgrowingperfect progressive
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has been outgrowingperfect progressive
Past
-
outgrewsimple
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had outgrownperfect
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was outgrowingprogressive
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were outgrowingprogressive
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had been outgrowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outgrow
Explanation
To outgrow something is to become too big to fit in it, or to grow too mature for it. Most college students have outgrown their affection for stuffed animals. If they haven't, they might have a hard time making friends in the dorm. As you grow older and bigger, you outgrow all kinds of things: clothing, your childhood bed, your ice skates. You'll also outgrow many things in the sense of being too old for them to be appropriate or as appealing as they were when you were younger. Just about everyone outgrows their favorite picture books and cartoons eventually. The earliest meaning of outgrow was "surpass in growth" or "grow faster than."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Rabo is one of the largest lenders to food producers to finance their land, equipment and daily operations, often after they outgrow a local bank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
“He knew one day we were going to outgrow the space,” Kean said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
Fast fashion offers an affordable way to keep up with kids who quickly outgrow their clothes.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2026
Curtis wrote in a note that while those concerns will probably linger, Broadcom “made a strong case for their AI revenue to outgrow the market and see continued growth” through 2028.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
It said that as kids mature, they tend to outgrow their pretend world.
From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate
Her character arc implicitly concedes this when she outgrows some of her early ways in the third act.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
If the stalk outgrows the jar, move it to a larger one.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 10, 2023
Alicia Kennedy takes a look at how The Bear’s second season outgrows its main character, and improves because of it.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2023
"But whenever that innovation outgrows the footprint of the game, that's when I think we have a problem."
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2023
“Her stomping will be a lot more effective when she outgrows those slippers,” I say.
From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead
While banks’ credit-card loans sharply outgrew nominal gross domestic product after the pandemic, their growth has more recently been trailing GDP, according to Fed data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Originally called St Martin's Foodshare, the operation outgrew the church where it started, with volunteers also facing a huge increase in the amount of paperwork needed.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
OpenAI represents something that Musk has rarely had to contend with: a success story that outgrew him.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2026
What we found is that for much of this century, the global balance sheet outgrew the underlying economy that supports it.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025
When I reached the third grade, I outgrew such behavior.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
The contribution limit of $5,000 annually makes this accessible as birthday and holiday gifts rather than traditional presents that get outgrown or spent.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
By then, the national story was one of disinvestment: deferred maintenance, fiscal crises, crime and a general sense that big public systems were what Europe did and America had outgrown.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Rather, the volume of manuscripts has outgrown the capacity of the people who are supposed to evaluate them.
From Slate ● May 3, 2026
Experts say while some food allergies may be outgrown, such as egg and milk, it is far less likely for nut, sesame and fish.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Emma had had a problem with that when she was little; she was just lucky that she’d outgrown it.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Yet the population was outgrowing its code, and housing demand soared.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
It is the nature of childhood possessions that the child is always outgrowing them, and this is how things are meant to be.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
Last year, Reuters reported the banking firm was weighing options in London after outgrowing its existing 33-storey tower in Canary Wharf.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
“But I’m outgrowing this space. It’s great to interact with people, but I need to put my head down and focus. I need four more of me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2023
“Of course. Well, I’m on my way to the tailor. Hafsa’s outgrowing her clothes every time I blink.”
From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
